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Hungry for more stories on science, culture and technology?Check out Brain Food: Insights and Discoveries from Northern Arizona. From ground breaking scientific research to global music projects, Brain Food profiles some of the unique projects happening in the region and the interesting people behind them. While there are no new episodes of Brain Food, we will continue to maintain the archive here.

Brain Food: For Retired NAU Engineering Prof, Classic Cars Were A Way To Engage Students

KNAU/Bonnie Stevens

Every year, generations of classic car enthusiasts flock to sunny Phoenix for the Barrett Jackson Collector Car Auction. It's the essence of automobile artistry, power and engineering. And that's a perfect combination for Jerry McGlothin, a retired engineering professor at Northern Arizona University, and an antique car junkie.

He calls the show, "an international lifestyle event with vendors of all kinds, selling every aspect of the luxury lifestyle you can imagine."

McGlothin says the biggest engineering change in automobiles in the last century is a switch in the power supply from carburetor to fuel injection. "They can adjust the timing just right. They can adjust the amount of fuel going in to the point that the engines are far more efficient, far more reliable and produce more horse power per cubic inch," he says.

When McGlothin taught at NAU in the late 70's and early 80's, he used his love of classic cars as a hook to get students excited about electrical engineering. He taught them about control systems, computers and electrical and digital networks.

That teaching strategy paid off for Chris Faulkner, an NAU graduate and McGlothin's former student. Like his professor, Faulkner loves to check out the cars at the Barrett Jackson event. "It epitomizes the latest high-tech, fantastic American engineering," he says. "It's a showcase that's very stimulating."

The engineer in Faulkner appreciates the advances in auto technology. But like his professor, the classic car enthusiast in him remains old school. Faulkner laughs when he says, "I actually think they put too much electronics in these cars now. I do like to turn my owns lights on and off."